Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides)

Stretching from the very fringes of London, Berkshire originally covered much of present day Oxfordshire. The variety of architecture is, consequently, broad and remarkable, from the towns of the home counties to the farmhouses and churches of its western part. Berkshire is dominated by Windsor Castle, of unparalleled interest both for its defensive and its domestic buildings and for the Perpendicular gem of St George's Chapel, home of the Order of the Garter. The county excels in smaller houses of the early eighteenth century but also offers contrasts between secular buildings such as the Wren-influenced town hall at Abingdon and the High Victorian elegance of Wellington College.